“This is what we wanted when we first got here as (freshmen),” said Joe Harris, the Cavaliers’ All-ACC guard.

When Harris and fellow senior Akil Mitchell arrived in Charlottesville, an event like Saturday’s bordered on unimaginable. Virginia had just finished 5-11 in the ACC under first-year coach Tony Bennett and was mired in a three-season funk.

But Bennett gradually assembled a roster willing and able to meet his exacting standards. He hired a staff that remains unchanged, a cornerstone of the program and remarkable stability in a nomadic profession.

So here the Cavaliers are, ranked 12th nationally and riding a 12-game winning streak. Prevail Saturday, and they claim the ACC regular-season title outright for only the second time.

But Virginia (24-5, 15-1 ACC) could not have drawn a more challenging opponent. A Final Four team last year, ACC newcomer Syracuse (26-2, 13-2) won its first 25 games this season and is coached by Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim. Much like the Cavaliers, the fourth-ranked Orange is admirably efficient on offense, famously stingy on defense.

Here some history is in order.

Saturday is the first clash of top-15 teams at Virginia since 2002, when the No. 8 Cavaliers lost to No. 3 Maryland, the eventual national champion. But that Virginia team was in the midst of a 3-10 free-fall that not only bounced it from the polls but also cost it an NCAA tournament bid.

A year earlier, Virginia was ranked throughout the season and defeated five top-20 opponents at University Hall, including No. 2 North Carolina and No. 3 Duke. But the Cavaliers were not ACC contenders, finishing four games behind co-champs Duke and UNC.

Rewind to 1995 and you’ll find No. 13 Virginia dismantling No. 6 Maryland 92-67 in the regular-season finale at U-Hall to earn a share of first place with the Terps, Wake Forest and North Carolina. But a shared title does not match Saturday’s stakes.

The Cavaliers won their lone outright regular-season championship, in 1981, going away, robbing the two weeks prior to the ACC tournament of any drama. Ranked third the following year, they defeated No. 2 North Carolina at U-Hall, but that Feb. 3 victory settled nothing.

In short, Saturday is the first home finale in which Virginia has played for the outright title. Add an iconic opponent, one that happens to be the only team that could catch the Cavaliers in the standings, and you have the recipe for a classic.

First, the teams’ contrasting seasons and how that might influence the outcome.

In each of their first seven ACC victories, the Cavaliers led by at least 20 points. Eight of their 15 conference wins are by at least 15 points, and their eight February games were decided by a combined 95 points.

Conversely, Syracuse has one ACC victory of more than 13 points, and its eight February contests were decided by 35 points.

Has the succession of tense games steeled, or exposed, the Orange? Even with the likes of C.J. Fair, Jerami Grant and Tyler Ennis, is Syracuse lacking on offense?

After relative dominance, how will Virginia respond to repeated late-game drama? Are Malcolm Brogdon and Harris ready to launch a miss-this-and-lose jumper?

Then you have the coaches.

As a rookie big whistle at Washington State, Bennett was the consensus national coach of the year in 2007, guiding the Cougars to their first NCAA tournament in 13 seasons. But he took over at Washington State from his father, Dick, who established a culture that the son enhanced.

At Virginia, in concert with assistants Ritchie McKay, Jason Williford and Ron Sanchez, Bennett built his own foundation. He is among 10 finalists for the United States Basketball Writers Association’s coach of the year award and almost certainly will win ACC honors.

Boeheim is Syracuse basketball. He’s coached his alma mater since 1976 — Bennett was 6-years-old when the Orange hired Boeheim — won the 2003 national championship and trails only Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski in career Division I victories, 946 to 980.

Boeheim is “brilliant,” McKay said, “because they know exactly who they are, and they get exactly what they want. They know that zone just as well as we know our man-to-man.”

Presuming Boeheim is not excused early, how the coaches strategize and counter over 40 minutes will be fascinating. Can Bennett design sets to penetrate the 2-3 zone? Can Boeheim lure the Cavaliers into a faster tempo?

Virginia has won 17 consecutive ACC home games; Syracuse’s lone road setback was at Duke. Both could author indelible seasons.

No wonder tickets are fetching $800-plus on the secondary market. No wonder ESPN is sending A-list broadcasters Dan Shulman and Dick Vitale.

As Harris said, “You can’t really script it any better.”

I can be reached at 247-4636 or by e-mail at dteel@dailypress.com. Follow me at twitter.com/DavidTeelatDP

CHARLOTTESVILLE — On the drive to John Paul Jones Arena on Wednesday night prior to before Virginia's 65-40 win against Miami, U.Va. coach Tony Bennett tried a subtle approach to teach his son, Eli, about the pitfalls of looking ahead on the schedule.

A generous donor to the Virginia Athletics Foundation contributed $100,000 toward John Paul Jones Arena, writes a $12,500 annual check and has sweet, lower-level seats at home basketball games, about six rows up, foul line extended.

Miami is the outlier of Virginia’s three remaining regular-season basketball games. The Hurricanes have no credible NCAA tournament hopes, no unique cause to inspire their fans. They are the only ACC team to lose to Virginia Tech — twice at that — and they score fewer points...

No school gets rich off the NCAA’s basketball fund. Reach the Final Four like Duke and Kentucky? Exit the first weekend like Virginia, Hampton and VCU? Just miss qualifying like Old Dominion and Richmond?